General music teachers’ professional competencies: Basic features of a framework model

Abstract

The present paper integrates findings from several single studies in which aspects of general music teachers’ professionalism and professionalization were explored from a competence-theoretical perspective. For this purpose, a pragmatic approach was chosen, combining top-down and bottom-up methods: Selected components from generic teacher competence frameworks were conceptualized in a domain-specific way and empirically validated through appropriate testing procedures. Additionally, data from two qualitative studies helped to explore specifics of teaching in the general music classroom in Germany – with emphasize on the teachers’ perspective and recorded as close to the classroom situation as possible. On this basis, a framework model of general music teachers’ professional competence is proposed, integrating the following areas: subject-specific professional knowledge, situation-specific skills, domain-specific musical abilities and skills.